Narratives...and more!

We have finally moved into a new area of reading study...narratives! This is partly as preparation for our CASI assessments in late April (CASI's are board wide reading comprehension assessment tools performed three times through out the year...the proceeding two were non-fiction, this time it will be fiction). Partly, it is also so we can deepen our discussion (started in our Romeo & Juliet study) about fiction texts.

Our focus will be on:

-explaining the characteristics of narratives and providing specific examples (of character, setting and plot).

-explaining the traits of characters (through stated and implied information) and connecting those traits to evidence in the text

-summarizing important ideas (key events of a plot, using strategies like first/next/then, who/wants/but/so or beginning/middle/end)

-determining the main idea/theme of a text, citing evidence from the text to support your opinion

We have already done quite a bit of work on SUMMARIZING...and CITING EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT TO SUPPORT YOUR OPINION. These were key components of our last two major writing assignments....in both our video game and movie/play reviews.

In our writing assignments, I have hammered home the concept of SPECIFIC DETAILS OR EXAMPLES.  I'm hoping, by the end of this year, that I will have ingrained in student memory the high importance of being SPECIFIC, of grounding your writing responses, to whatever it may be--wether a text, movie, game, whatever--in the CONCRETE DETAILS provided there in. The more specific you are, the stronger your point/opinion/answer.  Being specific = clarity. Clarity = good communication.

Good communication is fundamentally what literacy study is all about. Understanding what others have written and in turn writing to be understood.

In our study of narratives, we started with an excerpt from the Hunger Games and are currently reading a modernized version of the Edgar Allen Poe story 'The Cask of Amontillado'. We will be reading additional short stories to examine the above concepts.

And the flip side to reading...is always WRITING!

Time permitting, I'm hoping to cap this unit off with student's exploring their own narratives through short fiction writing.

Also, narratives will be included as an option for the final persuasive writing assignment in mid April--a multi-paragraph persuasive essay/review. Students will be writing a review on a video game, movie --or narrative--of their choice as a way to exemplify and consolidate the skills we have been working on with the previous two reviews.

Romeo & Juliet Jeopardy Game!

We are now nearing the end of Act 1 in our study of Romeo & Juliet, reaching the point where Romeo & Juliet meet! To celebrate, I created a Jeopardy game (using this great site jeopardylabs.com) which we played in class today using the Smartboard. Students were divided into teams, and took turns choosing Jeopardy questions to win points. It was quite clear from this game that students really understand the play so far!

The categories were: Characters, Settings, Motivations, The Movie Version I, The Movie Version II.

As we read the play, we have been watching the 1996 Romeo + Juliet movie which is a modern adaptation using original Shakespearean language. It has been very interesting to see the differences between the original play and the movie, and to see how the director of that film has chosen to represent characters, setting, etc. The film is highly visual, and filled with symbolism. It is almost a 'visual poem' in and of itself.  Even the signs in the backgrounds have meaning, as explained in this blog post and this one.

We have also been discussing such deep matters as: innocence vs. corruption, isolation,  relationships within families, hatred and prejudice.  The play touches on these themes, and more. As does the film.

We will continue, getting into Act 2 next week!

Here is the link to the Jeopardy game.

If Romeo & Juliet were on Facebook...

Today we completed Act 1 Scene 1 of Romeo & Juliet using the fabulous software Shakespeare In Bits (SIB). We have now role played the street brawl scene (using SIB audio to guide us), explored some of the characters' qualities (Tybalt is NOT someone you want to have angry at you), and have written/drawn a quick summary of the scene's key points.

I also had students brainstorm what Romeo would write on his Facebook page at the end of Act 1 Scene 1. At this point, Romeo is moping about, depressed because the girl he loves (or thinks he loves?) doesn't love him back. (This is Rosaline, not Juliet. He hasn't met Juliet yet.)

Here are some suggested Facebook postings for Romeo at this point in time:

Love sucks!
My life is over. I will never find another love.
Why doesn't she love me?
I'm in love. My love doesn't want anything to do with me. What do I do?
Nobody loves me!
I am very confused and heart broken.


Several students also suggested that Romeo would post some sad song lyrics... Hmmm, I wonder which lyrics? We'll have to find him a suitable song! (Here's my suggestion! Let's figure out some others next week.)

We will be doing this Facebook role play often through out the play as a way to connect with the characters on a personal level and to succinctly summarize their point of view.  I will be putting them all in our hallway so that at a glance, as you walk by, you will be able to see their 'posts'...

Romeo & Juliet Movies

Today a letter went home notifying parents and guardians of the movies we will be seeing. Please let me know if you did not receive this letter or if you have any questions.

The 3 movies we will be watching are:

Romeo + Juliet (1996) Rated PG-13
Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) Rated G
West Side Story (1961) Rated PG

These links go to the IMDB movie data base.

If there are any movies on this list that you do not want your child watching (such as Romeo + Juliet, which is rated PG 13) please let me know by MONDAY JANUARY 30 and I will make alternate arrangements. Also, if students find material in this particular movie uncomfortable (as it is rated PG-13 for "scenes of contemporary violence and some sensuality"),  I will have in place arrangements for them to leave and do a supervised activity elsewhere.

Students will be writing a movie review about one of these movies, comparing the movie to the original play as part of their review.

Please let me know if you have any questions,

Mrs. Johnson

Shakespeare Started!

Who is this fine fellow?!

Having finally gotten over a nasty virus, I am back in the classroom and we are now starting our Romeo & Juliet unit!

To start, we discovered a few things about the writer of R&J, William Shakespeare. As a class, we read the introductory paragraph on wikipedia on the Smartboard and as I read it, students practised taking jot notes (a very important skill!). Taking jot notes  means you have to focus in on the MOST IMPORTANT and relevant facts. You can't write down all the words I say/you read. You have to be selective and pick the ones that really matter.

Once they had collected some data, students had to choose their top 5.

I then condensed everyone's list into a main list. From that, students again narrowed it down to the top 5, top 3, and then the numero uno, number one main fact one should know about William Shakespeare.

For instance, if I had no idea who he was, what would you want to tell me? What is MOST IMPORTANT? What sums him up?

Most students were able to pull a main idea from all of the other data about who he married, how long he lived, where he lived, what plays he wrote, etc and selected this fact: that he is a POET AND PLAYWRIGHT. But only a few were able to select the even better option...which is that Shakespeare is considered ONE OF THE BEST PLAYWRIGHTS IN THE WORLD. He isn't just any ol' playwright, but one of THE BEST!  

As we read the play (we started the prologue today using Shakespeare in Bits on the smartboard) we will also be doing more research reading...that is, using our research skills, our ability to pull out main details, summarize key points, etc, by looking more closely at aspects of Shakespeares world...such as, The Globe Theater, Queen Elizabeth I, and the Elizabethan Age.

Game Review Wrap Up! Lego Batman & Just Dance!

This week we completed our critique of  video games in preparation for our next writing assignment: game reviews.

A while back, we played & critiqued New Super Mario Bros Wii...we also read a review of the game written by Luke Navarro.

This past Wednesday, we played & critiqued LEGO Batman for the Wii...and read this review of the game by Hilary Goldstein.

Today, we played & critiqued Just Dance #1 for the Wii...on Monday we will read a corresponding review.

On Monday, students will also begin writing their own game reviews. They can choose either one of the games we looked at in class or one from home. If they choose to review one from home, they need to take home the graphic organizer THIS WEEKEND and bring it back on Monday. All students were informed of this today.

When we critiqued the games in class, we all used a graphic organizer. This organizer will help students write the review. The organizer included providing descriptive words about the game, game play summary, the effectiveness of the controls, sound, graphics and multiplayer features (and justification for whether you thought they were effective or no), personal connections and the final rating.

JUST DANCE was a great way to end this week and this unit! Many students gave this game a 10! By the end of the class, even non-players were up dancing! (Who says learning can't be fun?! In fact, I kept hearing that all morning: 'This is so much fun!' 'Can we do this again sometime? It was so much fun!') This was also a great community builder & some students really got a good work out!

Top 5 Literacy Tasks!

If you were at parent-student-teacher interviews, they you know that I asked students to check mark from a list their favourite literacy tasks so far...these tasks included reading, writing, media & oral language tasks that we have done (or are in process of doing) since September.

I have tallied the results and here are the top 5!

5. Tied between Video Game Reviews & Learning Frames 4 animation software
4. Photo-A-Day Plus Caption
3. One/Zero (by Kathryn Otashi) retell using Frames 4 media
2. Poe's Tell Tale Heart
1. Interviewing guest writers  (such as Chris Simon & Luke Navarro)

Incidentally, #6 is Independent Writing Journals.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Gaming in Literacy

Those of you who know me, or have read my bio page, understand my interest in games based learning.

Please check out my MISA funded research Mario Kart project from last year, and also  my resource page, which shows how other educators are using video games in the classroom.

I was also interviewed CBC radio (and other radio stations) and also by various newspapers.  You might also like to read my blog Using Video Games At Home For Learning Over The Summer.

I'm very excited to bring gaming to our literacy program. Today, we played and critiqued the Wii game New Super Mario Brothers Wii.

Pulling names randomly, students were invited to the front of the room to play the game. Each game session lasted about a minute or so. After each session, we filled out a section on our brainstorming sheet as we prepare for review writing.

We were looking at: finding 5 descriptive words about the game, explaining & summarizing the game play, determining the effectiveness of the controls, the sounds (music, effects, voice), the graphics, and the multi-player function (and justifying those opinions). We also looked at personal connections to the game and then every one gave the game their individual, overall rating.

These points will make up the criteria of our review writing.

Students got quite impassioned in their opinions. Some thought the game too childish (for which they had to JUSTIFY their positon--for example, the graphics are too much like a cartoon, the game play is too easy) while some thought the game one of the best, ever (for which they had to JUSTIFY their position--for example, the music is happy & well suited to the sense of the fun that the game provides).

One thing we have been emphasizing in our reading & writing program is the need for SPECIFIC DETAILS (see previous article 'where's the beef?'). Whether writing reports or answering comprehension questions about Poe's The Tell Tale Heart, students have been encouraged to put in specific details and to justify  their responses with details from the text...or in this case, the video game.

Int his unit, we will be reading game reviews and studying the way writers write reviews (one of these writers is our guest speaker, Luke Navarro). And of course we will continue to play games and critique them! The final assignment will be a review of a game of student choice, either one covered in class or one from home.

Later in the year, we will apply these same strategies to the more traditional movie & book review process.

Sponge Bob's The Tell Tale Heart & Halloween

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Halloween with a party...so come in a costume if you like! And if you are bringing treats, please make sure they are nut free!

Also note...we will be doing some work in the first half of the morning (party is in the second half). This 'work' we are doing involves using your best Mr. Krabbs, Squidward, and Spongebob voices...as we will be reading the script to Sponge Bob Squarepant's version of The Tell Tale Heart.

This means that the writers of Sponge Bob, like you, have read Poe's story...and were so inspired by it, they adapted it to an episode!

Here is the script we will be reading...and comparing to the orignal.

If we have time, we will also watch the show. If not, that will take place on Tuesday.

See you tomorrow!

Kevin McGill puts us on his blog!

Kevin McGill also wrote about our collaborative initiative (which I wrote about in the previous post) on his blog: http://kevinmcgill.wordpress.com

You may also wish to scroll down to see his new BOOK COVER! His book will soon be coming in paper form! (The old fashion way!)

Currently, I read his book as an e-book with my e-reader (kindle).

We have been talking in class about CATS (Cover, Author, Title, Skim or Summary) as a way to discuss and approach books.

Check out Kevin's book cover to see what impressions you get about the book! Can you make any predictions about the book? What do you think about the cover art?

Nikolas & Co: Achievement "Unlocked"!

Kevin McGill, the writer of Nikolas & Co, wrote our class a letter after seeing your visual doodles about his book!

To Mrs. Johnson's grade 7/8 students,

• Your teacher, Mrs. Johnson, just showed me your pictures of Nikolas and Company and all I can say is, awesome! 
• 
  
• I am so impressed by your drawings and desire to read that I've decided to make it worth your while. 
• 
  
• There are so many things about Nikolas and Company that you don't know yet. 
• 
  
• Like the power of jynn'us - every person has a power hidden inside all of them, and when they breathe the air of Mon, it will be unlocked. 
• 
  
• Some have the power to call weapons out of thin air, others can destroy an entire airship with the blink of an eye. 
• 
  
• Then, there's all the various kinds of fantastic creatures: creachlings, elflings, fairlings, humlings, unlings, biglings, midglings, and plantlings. Each kind has their own set of creatures and monsters.
• 
  
• For example, under the plantling kind, there is a terrible monster that is part tree and part spider. (A hint: Don't be fooled by one of its juicy looking fruits.) 
• 
  
• Would you like to be the first to know more about the thousands of different creatures and inner-powers? Well, you will. 
• 
  
• For every week that you listen to and draw along with Nikolas and Company, I will unlock another Mon mystery on my website just for you. 
• 
  
• Simply visit http://nikolasandco.com/ and click on "Mon Mysteries."
• 
  
• Read on! 
• 
  
• Sincerely, 
• 
  

Kevin

Thanks Kevin! I will be sure to let you know by the end of each week if we've got doodles! And if we do I will post them on my new page on this blog dedicated to the Visual Doodles! 


What an exciting way to explore the creative universe of Nikolas & Company. We look forward to 'unlocking' this special content as we read and think our way through your book!

Shakespeare in Bits: Coming in January!

Shakespeare in Bits is software created by Mindconnex Learning in Dublin, Ireland. Our class is very fortunate to be part of the Educator Partnership Program--which means that we get to test drive the software and give feedback! Fiona from Mindconnex will be talking to the class via Skype on Dec. 14th!

Plus, we are the only Canadian participants!

HOW COOL IS THAT?!

Recently, Shakespeare in Bits was showcased on a video called 'Dublin's 30 Second Start Ups' (created by Tech Europe of the Wall Street Journal).  They are the first '30 second' clip at about the 44 second mark in the video. I thought I would post it here so students & parents could see a 'face behind the software': Michael Cordner.

Michael Cordner is also right: every student encounters Shakespeare at some point!

Shakespeare's appeal is ageless--primary kids can study Shakespeare. Most students typically encounter the original plays in high-school (typically Romeo & Juliet in Grade 9!). As part of preparing for the transition to high school, this class is going to get a 'taste' of Shakespeare through whole class study of the play using this amazing software (via the Smartboard). We are also going to watch 2 movies based on the play (and based on that, we will write our short comparative essays).

Winter is going to be a very exciting time as we launch this project!

For more information on Shakespeare in Bits, check out their websete. The link is also on the sidebar.

Here is the video! Enjoy!

Program Plans

I thought everyone would like to know the fall agenda in terms of literacy & media for this class. Please note it is a work in progress and may need to be adjusted. Some aspects may carry into the Winter. Here it is:

I have also set up a wiki that allows for document downloads. This is available in document form HERE.  I will be adding more documents to the download files as the need arises.

Coming Up This Year in our Awesome Literacy Program...

I have been telling the students about some of the cool things I have planned for our class this year. I thought I would highlight them all here on the blog & tomorrow we will review all of them in more detail:

• 4 guest speakers (writers). These are real writers writing in the real world. Our first guest is Chris Simon, editor of the Innisfil Scope, who will be speaking in person about report writing & editorials (next Wednesday). The other interviews will take place via Skype as these writers call in from various part of the world. We will be speaking with a novelist, a reviewer (including video game reviews) and a poet.
• literacy & media collaboration projects with Gr. 9 & 10 students at Nantyr Secondary School
• Wii project with Nantyr Secondary School
• class youtube page & website(s) to showcase the wide variety of media/videos we will be creating
• Educator Partnership Program with shakespeareinbits.com. This is a software company in Ireland and we will be skyping with Fiona in December. We will be using their software in class in Jan/Feb as we study Romeo & Juliet and providing feedback about their software.

In addition to that, I will be incorporating all kinds of real world media representations to generate discusion, responses, writing, and to use as comparisons to texts. 

I hope you find this program as exciting as I do!

Writing 'Baselines' & Math Charades

BASELINES
Today, students had a choice in writing tasks: write a news report about an event in their life OR write a review of a game, movie or book. Over the next few months, we will be developing our skills in report and review writing but for now I just needed a 'baseline'--an idea of what their writing is like before teacher intervention & instruction. This will let me know everyone's 'starting point' and their areas of need for growth. We will work on growing the quality of their writing over the year. What they write for me today should look very different from a sample at the end of the year. (ie: It should look better!)

MATH BOOSTER

We also started something today that I call 'math booster' and this will be a weekly component to our language program. Ms. Scigliano teaches math in the afternoons but as a 'support' to those lessons I will be integrating math into the language curriculum. In my language program, one of my over all goals is to students to 'creatively and clearly communicate concepts." In this math booster class, students will creatively and clearly communicate MATH concepts using a variety of methods: oral presentations, writing (short stories, explanations, journals) and media (video creations, bitstripsforschools, etc).

We started with some fairly straightforward concepts today but the tricky part was figuring out how to portray them as 'gestures only' with a partner ('math charades'). So the concept of 'fractions'. for instance, was portrayed by a pair of students as miming cutting up a pizza or circle into pieces. Students reviewed the performances and were assessed on their listening skills (a component of their oral language curriculum).  The audience's job was also to guess the math concept being presented.

I hope by this example you can see how in this math booster session we will be looking at math through a variety of 'multiple intelligences', expressing it through gestures, picture & images, sounds, words/texts, as well as the traditional 'number' format. I'm hoping this approach will encourage a deeper understanding of math and also provide a venue for creative literacy expression.

The math concepts will, of course, grow in complexity over time... stay tuned!